Transcending the Miscellanies: the Satirical Letter of P. Anastasi I

The Satirical Letter of P. Anastasi I (Fischer-Elfert 1983; Fischer-Elfert 1986a) shows what a masterly result a meticulously undertaken training in the system of Ramesside education could lead to. This fictional text is documented in Memphite and Theban traditions and probably originated in the early part of the reign of Ramesses II (Fischer-Elfert 1986a: 251-67). Although the text is regarded as a ‘‘unique specimen’’ (Burkard and Thissen 2008: 141), and is not regarded as belonging to the Miscellanies genre, it is close to it inasmuch as it takes this basic model as its starting point. Constructed as a letter of the scribe Hori to a recipient addressed as ‘‘whoever,’’ the text incorporates different types of literature (Fischer-Elfert 1986a: 271-6); there are mathematical exercises (chs. 12-15), topographical lists, and Near Eastern cultural studies (chs. 16-19a and 20a), as well as texts of the type ‘‘Hardship of a Soldier’s Life.’’ The text also discusses the educational goals of the Miscellanies when, in ch. 8, on the basis of the Middle Kingdom Teaching of Har-djedef, there is an argument about the correct use of the classics learned in school. However, the probable aim of Hori’s open letter, unlike the simple graduation pieces of the Miscellanies, is to criticize, through his own mastery of the conventions of well-established educational genres, the monotonous reproduction of school knowledge which was apparently widespread among the contemporary officials addressed in the text as ‘‘whoever,’’ and which, though it was learned off by heart, was not understood (Fischer-Elfert 1986a: 279-90).